Daily hiking classes start tomorrow (Feb. 15) at Amicalola Falls State Park, Georgia, at 3:00 pm. The class is free. The goal of the class is to help northbound thru-hikers understand the essential items and skills they need to have a safe and successful hike and to protect the Trail as they proceed north.
The classes are offered through April, and are being provided by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC), in partnership with the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and the U.S. Forest Service.
More detail can be found in the ATC's blog post at www.appalachiantrail.org/nobo-thruhike-class with more detail
Classes designed with flip flop thru-hikers in mind are offered at the Flip Flop Festival in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia April 28-29. The festival is organized by the Harpers Ferry-Bolivar Trail & Town Alliance in partnership with ATC. Although there will be flip-flopper send-offs Sunday, April 29 and Monday, April 30, flip-floppers are encouraged to disperse their start dates and locations. Starting a few day or weeks in advance of the festival, and jumping back or ahead, can allow you to make the most of the pack shakedowns offered by appointment Friday afternoon before the festival, or during the weekend. (It's hard to make changes to gear you spent hard-earned money for, and give up those luxury or duplicate items when you haven't hiked up and down mountains for several hours a day). More info at www.appalachiantrail.org/flipflop and www.flipflopfestival.org.
All thru-hikers are encouraged to register their hikes at www.appalachiantrail.org/thruhikeregistration.
Laurie Potteiger
Appalachian Trail Conservancy